A new year and a new financial quarter is a great time to do a skills gap analysis. Analysing the skills of yourself and your team will help you identify what you already do well and what else you need to grow your business. A review might even help you spot other strengths and weaknesses.
In this blog, we share our five-point plan for an effective skills gap analysis.
(more…)We are very proud of the flexible opportunity we offer our franchisees. Everyone works better after they’ve taken a break, whether it’s a fortnight’s holiday abroad or lunch with a good friend.
When you join the Get Ahead family, you are free to work in the way that suits you. However, if you’re used to nine-to-five, managing your own hours and your own holidays can seem daunting. Fortunately, our franchise model works means you can take holiday without your business grinding to a halt.
Here are five ways to manage holidays when you’re a Get Ahead franchisee:
(more…)As you prepare your business for Q1, you’ve probably made some key decisions that will affect the whole organisation. For your business to carry these out and achieve the goals you’ve set, it is essential that you take your employees with you. When employees are fully engaged with the goal setting process and understand the direction the business is going, they are more likely to deliver the work you need.
In this blog, we look at ways you might engage staff and communicate your new goals to ensure your employees support your business direction.
(more…)As we look ahead to the New Year, we can start to plan our next steps for business growth. Part of this process is breaking down an overall priority into strategic goals and identifying what your business needs to achieve them. This might be anything from moving to a new premises to using an outsourced lead generation service, but the important thing is to identify it and act on it.
In this blog, we take a closer look at strategic goals, how to write them and how Get Ahead can help you achieve them.
(more…)IT breaches are nearly always serious. No business can afford to compromise data security or risk losing trade because of a computer virus.
In this blog, we look at some of the ways businesses of all sizes can protect their computer systems from hacking, data breaches and other problems. Some of these responsibilities are for management; others are good habits that everyone should get into.
IT responsibilities for management
(more…)The marketing community has had cause to wince quite a few times this year, with some glaring mistakes from big name brands who should know better. In fact, these mistakes could probably have been avoided if someone had simply looked at the marketing campaign with a fresh pair of eyes.
In this blog, we look at what can go wrong and how outsourcing can help you avoid it.
(more…)You know you’re about to make your next career move and you know you want to be your own boss. Perhaps it’s time for more freedom, or perhaps you’d like more flexibility and balance in your life. If this sounds like you, you might be trying to work out whether you’d rather set up on your own, or you’d rather buy a franchise of an established business.
Let’s take a closer look.
Should I run my own business?
Running your own business is exciting, challenging and rewarding. Successful entrepreneurs have a great business idea and the drive to make it succeed.
When you run your own business, there are many benefits:
But there are downsides as well:
Should I buy a franchise?
If you’re not sure whether or not starting your own business is the right step for you, you might consider buying a franchise instead. A franchise can provide a lot of the freedom of running your own business, but without the pressure of working alone to deliver your own ideas.
There are many benefits to buying a franchise:
However, buying a franchise isn’t for everyone.
When we decided to franchise Get Ahead, we identified some of the problems of franchising and set out to address them. That’s why our franchisees aren’t under pressure from performance targets, do receive regular training and, above all, benefit from our scalable business model so they can push themselves and their franchise as far as they like.
Buy a Get Ahead franchise
Whatever you decide your next step should be, it’s got to be right for you. And if do decide to buy a franchise, we hope you’ll choose Get Ahead! Our site is full of resources to help you make your decision. You could also follow our social channels and find out more about our ethos. You can even book in a call with franchisor Rebecca Newenham – why not have a chat and get your questions answered before you take the plunge?
Online safety is an issue for everyone. Sometimes, very sadly, it makes the headlines, with vulnerable teenagers unable to escape social media’s darker side, or celebrities falling prey to trolls or cancel culture.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably not a vulnerable teenager or a celebrity. But social media safety is important for business owners too. In addition to protecting your identity and mental health, business owners are in a strong position to set a good example with relevant content, moderate views and helpful advice.
Let’s take a closer look at online safety for business owners.
(more…)Whatever the size of your business, you should have a business continuity plan or BCP. This will ensure your business can continue in its work, even if problems arise or disaster strikes.
In this blog, we look at why business continuity matters and what should go on your business continuity planning checklist.
(more…)Small businesses don’t always have the same financial security that a bigger business has. This can make expansion difficult, and leave business owners struggling. Without the means to pay more staff, or the security that they can keep on paying wages, some business owners are thinly spread and unable to take their business to the next level.
Fortunately, outsourced business support is an affordable, flexible solution that enables business owners to access cost-effective support they can turn on and off as required.
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